


To The Pleasant Life

by laverna_aurelius



Category: Naruto
Genre: Age Switch, F/M, Generation Swap, Older Woman/Younger Man, Unresolved Tension, age-swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-02-03 18:25:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1754081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laverna_aurelius/pseuds/laverna_aurelius
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stuck on a close-quarters mission with her best friend's former student, Haruno Sakura may be forced to face her growing attraction to someone over a decade her junior, unknowingly falling into his trap the entire time. Sometimes, the road to a pleasant life can be messy and complicated, especially when you don't even know you're on it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m taking some serious liberties with the Naruto Universe by writing this. So I plan on leaving some holes unfilled. No beta present! However, I expect it to be a good story regardless. This is shorter than I think a chapter should be, but leaving it here for now feels natural. I'm excited to finally have this out! It's been killing my brain for weeks. R&R xoxo

His hands, worn, but softer than her own, traced the slight curve of her hips as his mouth devoured hers. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, tightly so that maybe she could erase the face of the one doing this to her. He pulled away and whispered into her ear, the soft cadence of his words were indecipherable, but his hot breath caused a tremor to erupt through her body all the way to her core. Daring a glance, she opened her eyes just as he pulled back, and all the saw was a swirling, red sharingan.

Sakura woke with a start and glanced around her, the arousal brought on by the dream still burning her from the inside out.

"Sakura-taichou, is everything okay?" Her eyes fell on the ANBU seated a few feet away. Although she knew there must have been at least five scattered around the campsite, hidden from view, she only interacted with one at a time, Raven was the third one to accompany her directly.

“I’m fine, Raven. I just.. Why don’t I take the next watch and you go and get some sleep?”

“I’m sorry, Sakura-taichou, but the mission clearly states--”

“What did you call me?” She cut him off, voice seething with unchecked rage.

He faltered, pinned in place by her stony, jade gaze. "Sakura-"

"Taichou. " She finished for him. "So, the next time I give you a request, it would behoove you to take it as an order. Have I made myself clear, Raven?"

She could feel the scowl emanating from behind his porcelain mask. Without another word, he rose from his seat and disappeared to locate his pack.

"You know, Sakura-sensei, you don't have to be so abrasive with us. A simple please will suffice."

She rolled her eyes and suppressed the audible groan tearing up the back of her throat. "I should have known they wouldn't let me leave the village without the infamous Copy-ninja by my side."

He chuckled and took a seat beside her. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but he seemed too close. His body heat could be felt, permeating her senses and leaving them muddy. Fighting the urge to scoot further away, Sakura forced the tension from her shoulders and tried desperately to act natural.

"Someone as important as Haruno Sakura needs the extra security after her last mission."

She frowned but said nothing, instead chewed on her tongue in thought.

_When the beloved Hatake Legacy stumbles into the village carrying his own detached arm and using a scroll to keep his entrails from becoming his outrails, he's up and running in a week._

_Sakura makes one simple miscalculation that almost gets her killed, and they keep her in the village for two months and don't trust her to carry out a diplomatic mission without an army at her disposal._

"He is too green to be on the field anyways. His unwillingness to heed my authority is textbook insubordination. Or misogyny. Either way you see my point. I can't believe they still let children in ANBU."

Kakashi hummed in response, clearly not in the right frame of mind to deal with the often tumultuous landscape that was Sakura’s mood. He also didn't want to point out that Raven was only a year younger than himself. The last thing on Kakashi's wishlist was to remind Sakura of their age-gap, something he had been cleverly (or so he hoped) steering her away from for the past three years.

"I can see that you are glad to be back on the field."

"Yeah.” Sakura heaved a heavy sigh as her eyes clouded with images he couldn’t see. “I'm already passing my prime. Soon, I'll be confined to hospital duty and diplomatic missions. Oh wait."

"You are not old, Sakura-sensei." His tone was bored and he was more than unhappy with the ironic turn their conversation was taking.

"How old are you again, Kakashi-kun?"

He sighed. Obliging her in her self pity was the safest option at this point. "Twenty-two."

"Exactly! I've known you since you were five! Do you have any idea how that feels? To be lead around by kids half your age?"

"First of all, no one here is remotely half your age. Secondly, in all fairness, you were only sixteen when you met me.” He took a deep breath and pushed his ANBU mask up. “And although I enjoy enabling you to wallow in a mid-life crisis, what is this really about?"

A vein in her neck twitched as she swallowed the anger boiling from her chest. She was not having a mid-life crisis. That would be easy. If only things were that simple. She prayed that Kakashi continued to believe her capable of such shallow vanity, because the alternative was so much worse. Being attracted to her teammate's student was unacceptable behavior. And were it not for that dream and the half dozen she’d had before the most recent one, she never would've even thought it possible.

"I suppose I should just ignore the Sai-worthy tactlessness of that last comment, but it'd be foolish to waste a lesson in etiquette on a child."

Though her words held no real venom, she could see they did the trick. Hurt flickered across his eyes before disappearing completely.

 _That should keep him at arm's length for awhile,_ she thought. But as He stood to leave, guilt twisted in her heart.

"Wait, Kakashi."

He turned, the porcelain mask firmly in place again, hiding his expression. “Yes, Sensei?”

"You've not been a child to me in years. But you'll always be Naruto's student, and it's hard sometimes to remember that you grew up a long time ago. I shouldn't be taking my frustrations out on you."

He dropped back down beside her and pushed up his mask. "Well, both of us could stand to be a little less sensitive."

She laughed but didn't respond. Instead, she listened to the lulling symphony of crickets and frogs as the forest around them came to life. She never really did get used to sleeping during the day and traveling at night, but neither could she deny the usefulness of darkness.

They weren't traveling through enemy territory per se, but Water Country had a huge population of rogue ninja, and until recent years trained their shinobi, with with unsavory methods, to treat foreign or enemy shinobi with extreme prejudice. Although many of their tactics have fallen out of practice, there were still veterans working for Kirigakure. So even though the mission was entirely diplomatic, it was always good to have as many advantages as possible when entering unsafe territory.

"Sakura-sensei, their is something that I have been meaning to talk to you about.” Kakashi said suddenly, the forest seeming to grow quieter at his admission.

She held her breath. There was something in his tone that alerted her to exactly what he wanted to talk about. It didn't take a fool to notice that Kakashi had been pining for her since he was thirteen, since she rescued little Obito from his self imposed martyrdom.

She, Naruto and Sasuke had nearly killed themselves saving the Uchiha brat. The moment she woke up to Kakashi's large, strangely mismatched eyes that were so full of surprise and adoration, she knew it would take something really big to shake devotion like that. So far, she hadn't been successful.

She licked her suddenly very dry lips, regretting the words before they'd even left her mouth, but fate intervened as per its wont and the pair found themselves surrounded by six shinobi.

Clearly they were in Kirigakure territory. Their pallor, war-worn faces and sharpened teeth said it all. Luckily Kakashi had had enough time to cover his face with the porcelain mask. The last thing they needed was to be identified on the spot. He'd been listed internationally in most Bingo Books, which explained why Sakura didn’t quite understand his continuation of being in ANBU.

"What are a couple of Konoha Ninja doing so far away from home?" One particularly bulky shinobi asked, his voice rough, but surprisingly high-pitched.

"What makes you think we're from Konoha?" Sakura asked in an accent so undeniably not Konoha that she surprised even herself. She always had a knack for languages, but given her schedule, wasn't able to do more than master accents. Unlike Kakashi whose eye let him memorize pages of new words. Although he couldn't speak them with any adequacy, he was a rather proficient translator.

"State your business. What are you are you doing so close to Kiri’s borders?"

Sakura reached into her bag slowly, keeping steady eye-contact with the man, and withdrew the proper documentation to get them to the Mizukage.

He read over it carefully, scrunching his weathered face in thought. “It’s coded properly, clearly from Mizukage-sama, but it’s outdated. Could be stolen.” He said to the women standing to his left.

She eyed the Konoha-nin carefully, skimming over the scroll as she did so. “We’ll have to take them into custody. I should have been home three weeks ago and I don’t think they want a fight anymore than we do.”

Sakura was thankful for the woman’s exhaustion, but couldn’t help gritting her teeth angrily. If Tsunade had allowed her to leave the village a month ago when they received the scroll, then this wouldn’t be a problem.

The woman turned back to them. "How many more are in your party? "

Sakura looked at Kakashi as he held up five fingers.

"What are you some kind of princess? Don't answer that. Just tell your men to get over here. We have to take you into custody and let the higher-ups decide what to do with you."

Kakashi threw up a few hand signs and six clouds of smoke appeared, revealing Lemur, Raven, Rat, Bear, and Goat. Sakura knew all of them by mask only during a few late night rounds in the hospital.

"Kirigakure is about 5 hours north, but I don’t feel like trekking that far with a bunch of foreigners, so we will be teleporting to the village. If any of you tries anything, I will not hesitate to kill you."

Sakura turned around to give them all a look that demanded compliance, her eyes lingering on Raven longer than the rest. Although, she didn't expect any funny business. ANBU was probably the only faction among their ranks that didn't have that rash, overly passionate, “fight until we drop” personalities that so many Konoha ninja were famous for.

The Mist-nin tied loose but sturdy knots around their wrists. Apparently someone recognized the light indigo rhombus in the middle of Sakura’s forehead that stood stark against her fair complexion, because she was the only one who received a strong chakra seal. She really couldn’t complain, she decided. This took hours off of their journey, and although she would not admit it unless it was a real problem, the pastel-haired kunoichi was still tired from being off the field for so long.

As they all walked in a single file line through the humming forest, Kakashi couldn't help his eyes from training on the long, pastel braid that swung between Sakura's shoulder blades with each swivel of her hips. Its length was a sign of how the past two months had flown by without his notice. The gentle sway of pink on black caused his eyes to glaze over with memories of the last time he saw Sakura before this mission. The day she almost died.


	2. Chapter 2

II. 

She'd just gotten a haircut. Her pastel pink locks now tickled her shoulders, and she had long bangs that curled upwards beneath her chin. It was Kakashi's favorite style, because when she turned quickly to say hello, her hair would flip over her shoulder and reveal a perfect smile. It was just long enough to pull up, but her bangs would always fall into her face, leaving her to groan in frustration as she vainly tucked it behind her ears until she broke down and got a hairpin. But, Kakashi especially loved how, when she was concentrated on her research, the tip of her hair would always find its way into her mouth, and she would unconsciously suck on it like a child. 

Also, Kakashi was definitely not stalking Haruno Sakura. He was just terribly perceptive.

Those were the images that assaulted his thoughts as he led his team home from an escort mission in Ishigakure. Since Naruto-sensei was busy with Hokage-grooming business, Kakashi was more than happy to fill the role of team captain. The only downside was how uncomfortable his jounin uniform felt after weeks of wearing his ANBU attire. Although, Sakura did once say that he looked much older in his jounin uniform..

He could have kept the trivial stream of consciousness going for the rest of the trip home, but just as they were passing by Amegakure, a massive explosion in the distance shook the ground beneath their feet. Immediately, the three man squad halted and turned to face the direction of the towering, industrial village as clouds of smoke billowed up from every corner.

"I wonder what's going on.." Rin said, her chestnut brows knitting with worry.

"We shouldn't get involved," Kakashi interjected, immediately putting a stop to her bleeding heart antics before it got out of hand. 

Obito scoffed loudly, crossing his arms over his chest. "You would say that."

"I'm not saying anything,” Kakashi groaned, massaging the bridge of his nose. “It's just that we've been treading on thin ice with Ame since they got that fake intel about a Konoha rogue-nin heading that anarchist group."

"Wait," Rin interrupted them with wide eyes. "Obito, didn't you say Sakura-sensei was on her way to Ame when you were on gate duty a few weeks ago?"

Kakashi didn't actually hear the tail-end of Rin's observation, because he was already spearheading towards the village, the world slowing around him as his mind calculated as much about their situation as it could without knowing all of the facts. 

Amegakure was notorious for having extremely intense security. It was rumored that their leader, Nagato, could tell who was coming and going just from the raindrops falling into the city. 

If Sakura-sensei were there, then that meant she was probably working in the hospital or academy as a medic trainer in order to strengthen relations between villages. Konoha was the leader in medical jutsu, and Sakura had been doing these missions since the last war. 

"So what's the plan, Taichou?" Obito asked smugly, clearly pleased that not only was he right, but Kakashi had stormed ahead frantically the moment he heard the Chief Medic’s name. 

A light rain was beginning to fall on their heads, and Kakashi had a feeling they all knew that sneaking in would be hopeless now. "At this rate, I think it's best if we just go in through the gates."

"They will be on us in a second if we do that!"

"No no," Rin disagreed. "Kakashi has a point. If Sakura-sensei's mission was purely diplomatic, then they should already know who she is. Also, we all have our headbands, knowing who we are and killing us without probable cause would violate the recent treaty. Worst case scenario, they'll take us into questioning."

"But what if she is in trouble now?" Obito whined.

Kakashi couldn't help but agree with Obito. He wanted nothing more than to rush to her aid, but politics were a tricky thing and he didn't want his team to be caught in the middle of it.

"Let's hope for the best." Kakashi sighed, breaking into a sprint.

They found out quickly that the anarchists had blown up the academy, Shinobi HQ, the hospital, and the Hall of Official Records. Security at the gates was almost nonexistent, as everyone who wasn't engaged in combat was evacuating civilians. 

Rin almost stopped to help a few fallen shinobi, but she pushed forward. Obito scowled at the carnage unraveling the village and clenched his fist, trying to remain focused on their directive. Screams and the explosive sound of harsh combat rang in the ears while the sickening smell of death hung heavy in the air. 

Kakashi knew why they couldn't stop to help, because the same feeling was compelling him to keep going as well. It was the nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach that alerted Sakura might be in danger, and most likely without backup and surrounded by specialists, which meant non-fighting medics. 

The rain began to pour relentlessly, and a few of the rebel shinobi screamed in pain. Someone was using the rain to target the rebels, and Kakashi took the fact that they themselves were not being burned alive by acid rain as a good sign.

The hospital was a wreck as nurses and medics frantically set up tents outside and moved the more critical patients out of the rain. Most of them were dressed in white, but a few wore the red vests Kakashi knew signified apprenticeship with Haruno Sakura.

He approached a young woman, Obito and Rin following close behind.

"Excuse me, Miss, we're looking for Haruno Sakura. Have you seen her?"

The woman bit her lip nervously, checking their headbands before allowing her well constrained anguish to flood onto her face. "We were working in the high security wing together on a critical patient.." She wiped her eyes and swallowed before continuing. "Then the explosion happened and everything was silent. I came to.. A-and Sakura-sensei was surrounded. She told me to run. She said... She would die before they laid a hand on Konan-sama, and that.. And that if she did die she would take them all with her."

"That sounds like her. Where is it?" Obito demanded as Kakashi summoned his pack. 

"What gives boss? Why'd you bring us to this dump?" 

Kakashi ignored the pug's questions and addressed the entire pack, still not used to leading them. "Help the medics locate survivors. Pakkun, come find me in fifteen minutes." 

It turned out that the medic’s directions were vague, and given that half of the hospital was in ruins, they had to reluctantly split up. Kakashi knew he was getting close when he had to pause every few seconds to break a complicated seal. High security was an understatement and one had to wonder how anyone had gotten past it in any hurry.

He smelled her before he saw her. The air was thick with the smell of blood, making it nearly impossible to breathe, but Kakashi could make out faint traces of Sakura's medicinal tea she drank so often it had permeated her very being. He was thankful to come across an area of the hospital that hadn't been completely destroyed, though the wards definitely had something to do with it. 

Finally reaching what appeared to be the last of the seals, Kakashi pushed the door open and stumbled backwards as the strong smell of antiseptic and blood overcame him. Six bodies littered the floor. They were lifeless, but showed no serious signs of struggle, no blood. Sakura could kill with just a touch of her finger and great expense to her chakra, but he didn’t doubt that she had done just that.

The quiet hum of machinery filled the silence and the dense, metallic aroma was so strong that his nose began to itch uncomfortably. His eyes trained on a beautiful, blue-haired woman who had remained unharmed and unbothered by the chaos that had ensued, and he knew this woman, Konan, would have Sakura to thank for that.

As Kakashi took a few more slow steps into the light, he finally saw who he had been searching for. A steady stream of blood was peaking from the shadows beside the bed, and when he got a closer look, Rin's name left his mouth in a terrified scream before he had enough time to process what it was he was seeing.

Kakashi had never in his life seen so much blood. Her eyes, now a soft shade of grayish green, locked onto him, unfocused. All color had drained from her face, leaving chalky skin and parted, blue lips. She was alive, but only barely. What was worse, he had no idea where the blood was coming from. She was sprawled across the ground, her red dress wrinkled and pulled up above her thighs, revealing her leg-pack. And although her white coat was speckled with blood, she otherwise seemed unharmed.

"Kakashi! Stop standing there and try and get her memories! I can't move her until I know the situation!" Rin barked at him. He didn’t even notice her come in. Her voice was so similar to Sakura’s that it jolted him forward as he uncovered his sharingan and focused his attention on Sakura's eyes. He had only just recently learned the technique during interrogation training and tried desperately to break through the walls that surrounded Sakura's memories. Although he wasn’t surprised, but her mind was impenetrable.

"Sakura-sensei, please let me in. I won't wander. I just need to know what's happening." A few tears he hadn't known were forming fell onto her cheeks, and like a catalyst, the wet drops broke the dam and a flood of memories flashed across his vision.

Kakashi tore his eyes away and looked at Rin, helplessly wishing she, too, could read his mind. "She.. It's her back. One lunged at her with a katana and she moved just as another sliced up her back. She barely managed to bring them down, used the a lot of chakra to..” He paused, coughing while he tried to remember what exactly it was Sakura did. “She did the death-touch thing and Sakura she.. Sakura-sensei tried to activate her seal or summon Katsuyu, but she couldn’t move because she.. She might be paralyzed, Rin." He was shaking furiously, no longer worried about the way tears streamed down his face. Kakashi was scared and angry, but not only at the people who did this to her, but at Sakura, for when he had entered her mind, he felt nothing but peace and acceptance.

Rin, her face void of emotion from years of training in the field, nodded in understanding and set to work, doing magic far beyond Kakashi's comprehension, and he went to the nearest bin to yank his mask down and cough up the nauseous bile that had been working it's way up his throat since the first time that day he’d heard her name.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story skips back and forth in time, so sorry if it seems a little drabble-esque and that isn't your cup of tea! :)

"Ow!" Sakura hissed and turned around to glare at the culprit who would dare try to run her over. "Generally, Wolf, when the person in front of you stops, you are expected to stop as well."

"What?" Kakashi looked down at Sakura's stern face, then took in their surroundings. When had they arrived? They were waiting outside the Mizukage's office. His mind must have run away from him.

"You stepped all over me, or didn't you notice? Was your head up in the clouds?"

"I apologize, Sakura-sensei. You just aren't in my line of sight. And just because someone is much taller than you doesn't mean their heads touch the clouds." He watched as the ANBU in front of them vainly suppressed the laughter that shook their shoulders.

Sakura's jaw dropped, and were her hands not tied, he knew that her arms would be crossed over her chest while she spat out a clever retort then punched him so hard, his body flung backwards like a ragdoll. 

Unexpectedly, she simply shut her mouth and frowned. "I liked it better when you were small and still respected me."

"I still respect you, Sakura-sensei." He was leaning down so that they were nearly eye-level. Although the cloak, porcelain mask, and another layer of fabric hid all of Kakashi's features from view, he knew that Sakura was picturing a smirk on his lips, and imagining what exactly his lips looked like. 

"Insufferable. The whole lot of you. Tsunade sends me on a diplomatic mission with a bunch of back-talking children. Were my pink hair not already the height of professionalism, then the way I can command respect certainly is."

"So why are we waiting in line?" Kakashi asked, brushing over her fit flawlessly. 

"We are not waiting in line. I am simply waiting. You lot are waiting in line." She gave him a strange look, her eyes calculating the reasons behind his sudden onset absentmindedness. “You guys are being evaluated so they can decide who will be allowed to accompany me for the duration of my stay. Although I have never had backup before for this kind of mission."

Kakashi easily had about a thousand words to say about that, but he knew bait when he saw it and was not in the mood to banter anymore, or argue. It was always hard to tell with Sakura.

"They will probably only allow one or two to stay. I'm sure your first choice is Raven."

Sakura choked back laughter. "How ever did you know?"

Kakashi grinned, an action heard in his tone of voice. "You guys just really seemed to hit it off."

Raven just exited the examination room and crossed the hall to wait with the others. Sakura kept a surprisingly straight face.

"Okay seriously." She took a step closer and spoke so quietly, only Kakashi could hear her. "Who is Raven? The cloaks are hiding the only discernable features you all have."

"You know I can't tell you that." And Kakashi would have stuck by that principle, were it not for the way Sakura's expression turned soft and hopeless as she stared up at him with wide, sparkling eyes. "Let's just say, within this squad, there might be a wood-user, an Uchiha, and a skilled senbon-user."

Sakura smiled triumphantly. She knew exactly who those three were, and it didn't take a genius to figure out Raven's identity. 

...

This wasn't the hardest decision she'd had to make, but it was ranked pretty high. Uchiha had been removed from the squad immediately because of his sharingan, and the only reason Kakashi was still an option was because his sharingan could be covered. 

Two more were removed simply for being female, which made Sakura assume that the Mizukage wasn't in charge of this process, because most kunoichi wouldn't disqualify a shinobi for being female. That left Tenzou, Kakashi, and Genma. 

Genma was out immediately, and not only for his sexual reputation, but because last year he had conned her into furiously making out with him during a Christmas party, and the last thing she needed was spending weeks on end brushing off his advances.

Tenzou was a great choice. He was smart, funny, and more than capable. Not to mention he had those big, doughy eyes that could go from stunning to terrifying in a flash. It never failed to surprise people into submission. But, Tenzou was gullible. And Sakura had a feeling the reason she was being escorted by ANBU, and not jounin, meant there was another mission going on that she wasn't privy to.

They had the best of their faction with her, knowing they'd get whittled down to one. And Sakura always thought Kakashi was the most skillful. He was sly, cunning, and unassuming with the lazy way he tended to take on most tasks. On the other hand, Sakura was attracted to him (no use denying it), and that was dangerous on a mission. Maybe not her mission, but whatever he was assigned to do in Kirigakure probably required him to be focused and unburdened. But, Sakura hadn't seen him since he was hunched over her dying body, crying hopelessly and trying to do anything to save her.

In a place like Kirigakure, maybe Sakura needed that kind of devotion. 

...

Kirigakure was different than she had remembered. The cylindrical, stone buildings, heavy with moss, still towered above, and the feeling of never quite being dry was as uncomfortably present as ever.. But the mist no longer held that ominous presence as it had so many years ago. The lush, green landscape surrounding the village was peaceful, and in the muted light of midday it was even beautiful. Jewel tones were always Sakura's favorite, and it seemed that, like the landscape, the buildings were drenched in lush shades of green, eggplant, and maroon, all colors found in the wilderness. 

Even though the locals seemed more lively and welcoming than her last visit, there was something in their expressions that warranted a second glance, but always disappeared before she could decipher it.

Sakura knew Kakashi felt it too with the way his lone eye would linger on every person longer than needed. Even though he purposefully exuded a carefree attitude, she could see how uncomfortable her teammate was. It might have had something to do with his now destroyed cloak and Wolf mask, but she doubted it.

"Kakashi-kun, remember the last time we were here?" She asked, doing anything to distract her from how long the trip to the hotel was and how unfriendly their "guide" seemed to be.

"I'd rather not. I was eleven and it was the worst day of my life." He was positively pouting beneath that mask, she just knew it.

"You're being dramatic."

"Fine. It was the fourth worst day of my life. "

Sakura nodded in understanding. "I can believe that. It wasn't too great for me either. All of the sudden, Naruto gets dragged away on some top secret assignment and commissions me to lead a group of three kids I barely know to an unfriendly village on their second mission as a team."

"You almost died on that mission." His voice held an air of contempt that reminded Sakura of what a stuck up little brat he used to be. She couldn't help the fond smile that curled her mouth upwards. 

"Correction, we all almost died on that mission. Another reason why I was never a candidate to lead a genin team of my own." She shook her head, laughing quietly. "I have never in my life seen Naruto that angry. Especially at me. He really loves you guys, you know?"

"Yeah, we know." He turned to give her an eye-smile that did horribly amazing things to her insides.

"We're here." The gruff man leading them said, stopping in front of a very old, traditional bathhouse.

"Oh thank you. I was beginning to think that maybe you were leading us in circles!" Sakura smiled brilliantly, already breaking down the unfriendly man.

The large man smirked. "Maybe I was. Here's a map. The Mizukage expects you at 7 a.m. sharp tomorrow morning. You're being watched, so if he wonders off, he'd better check in with you on the hour."

Sakura nodded, not really listening. Bathhouse meant hot spring and her mind couldn't fit anymore information not related to soaking in a spring. Grabbing Kakashi's wrist, Sakura dragged him inside, spoke a mile a minute to the clerk and in matter of what seemed like seconds, they were settled in the second best room of the inn. 

"Are we or are we not the luckiest people on the planet, Kakashi-kun?" She was sprawled across the couch the separated their beds and grinning like a cheshire cat.

Kakashi was on the verge of scowling at the demeaning honorific until he turned and saw how terribly happy she was.

He shrugged out of his gear and took a seat beside her, moving the large stack of files she needed to read. "Are your diplomatic missions always so.. luxurious?" He gestured to their room, although not very big, it had shiny hardwood floors, soft beds, and a private hot spring outside. 

"Yes and no. Depends on the relationship we have with the village and what is at stake. But I think they know how much help their medic ninja need in the training department, so the least they can do is set me up in a nice room." 

Kakashi hummed in agreement and picked up a few of the files. They were extensive and contained all of the information pertaining to the state of the hospital, the current medics in action and prospective ones in the academy.

"Sakura-sensei, are you supposed to.." She was asleep, soundly so, clearly far more exhausted than she'd been letting on. Her lips parted and for the briefest of moments, he remembered the day she almost died.

He could lie to everyone else and say it didn't bother him, that he was over it. But, that's just it.. It was all a lie. Honestly, it was hard to look at her without seeing the pool of blood growing beneath her.

Later, Rin had told him that the moment Sakura awoke, she asked for him, but he wasn't there. As soon as he was assured that she would at the very least live, he threw himself into missions immediately. He hadn't been ready to face her, and still wasn't. It was hard to pretend nothing happened, but if she could, he would as well. For now.

He brushed a fallen strand of bubblegum hair from her cheek and was overcome with emotions. Kakashi loved her. She already knew, which was even more embarrassing, but what was he supposed to do? 

Kakashi shook his head and removed his mask, the fabric suddenly suffocating. He had two missions to complete while he was here that required complete concentration and careful planning. 

Carefully, he lifted the fair-haired kunoichi from her place and moved her to the bed she had immediately claimed as her own the moment her shoes were off. 

A presence appeared behind him and Kakashi turned quickly, kunai in hand, only to realize it was coming from the other side of the door. 

It was their "guide" from before. Kakashi knew that the man's job was primarily to keep an eye on the two foreign ninja, but he felt reassured by his presence regardless and set about organizing Sakura's paperwork before falling face first into his bed, memories of days past serving as his companions through sleep.

。。。。。

"We're back just in time for the Yamanaka Christmas party!" Naruto exclaimed with an excited fist pump, clearly unperturbed by the thin layer of grime that coated their skin.

"You're not seriously considering going, Naruto-sensei." Rin didn't say it, but they could all hear the "looking like a hot mess" that went unspoken.

"Ew you're right." He grimaced, taking a long whiff of himself. "Maybe I should shower first."

"Trying to look special for Sakura-sensei?" Obito asked.

"I thought she and Neji-sensei were dating?" Rin glanced at Kakashi carefully, very aware of how his tired posture stiffened. 

"Number one, I am not trying to impress anyone. And B, They broke up like a month ago." Naruto shrugged, taking a leisurely sip from his water, unaware of how the atmosphere around him changed.

"You're just telling us this now???" Obito demanded, his lone eye conspicuously fixed on his silver-haired teammate. "I thought they were living together!"

Naruto stopped abruptly and turned to face his team, eyeing them with gentle affection. For once, his age was apparent, mirrored in the soft lines of his face.

"Yeah they were, but it was never going to last. Just like Hinata and I were never going to last. Big clans like that.. They don't fall in love and start families. They carefully breed and run estates. I'm sure you understand, Obito."

He nodded sadly. "I'm just glad to not live in the main house. I hear it's a hellhole."

Naruto forced the frown from his face. "So who's going to be my date for the party? Rin? No? Okay. Obito? Not you either? Kakashi? Oh who am I --"

"I'll go." Kakashi said, a little too eagerly.

"Alright! My man Kakashi!" Naruto slung an arm over his pupil's shoulders. "Just so you know, I don't put out on the first date."

...

At the edge of the Yamanaka estate, there was a large, rolling hill void of trees, quiet and peaceful and far away from the people she didn’t need to see. Sakura shivered and pulled her jacket a little tighter. It was starting to snow, the first one in years. "You think just because this is my second bottle you can sneak up on me?"

"I wasn't trying." He peered down at her from beneath his overgrown bangs, looking like the essence of cool in his black linens, hands stuffed into his pocket. He decided not to mention how they both knew she was well past her second bottle. "What are you doing out here? You're missing the party."

"I prefer drinking myself numb and losing toes to frostbite. Why are you here, Kakashi? Shouldn't you be at the party, drinking with people your own age?"

She was drunk, more drunk than Kakashi had ever seen her. At least she had the sense to leave before making a scene of herself.

"Shouldn't you?" He retorted with a chuckle, prying a large bottle of rice liquor from her hand to take a long pull through his mask.

"I made out with Genma."

He sighed, a little too tired for jealousy. "Yeah, I know."

"Pretty shameful right?" Her eyes were wet with unshed tears, reflecting the moon and stars in a way Kakashi had never seen before. She gave him a watery smile.

"Everyone has made out with Genma." He paused and gave her a sly eye-smile. "Even me."

"Tell me about it. I don't believe you."

"Not a chance, Sakura-sensei."

"I don't believe it anyway. If anything, you made out with Obito. You two have more unresolved sexual tension than Naruto and Sasuke did after an argument."

"Fine, I lost a bet." 

"Ha!" She grinned merrily, her smile lighting up her otherwise somber features. "I knew you'd tell me. So easy."

He slinked closer to her, leaning into the moonlight so that she could read his eyes. "Maybe I wanted you know."

"Adds to the intrigue, I suppose." She was looking at him in a way that made him both uncomfortable and terribly excited. "Not that you need any with that mask and those stony, mismatched eyes."

He could feel her liquor-drenched breath on his lips, so warm and saccharine that it practically soaked through his mask and onto his tongue. She looked so beautiful. Her hair had fallen from its binding, and her thick coat fell off of her right shoulder, revealing a pale, smooth neck. The entire picture caused a tremor to roll through his entire body, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"You are so drunk." He murmured sadly. "What happened for you to get so irresponsibly intoxicated?"

She leaned back onto the heels of her hands and blew out a long breath, the air leaving her lungs and twisting into the fright air sensually before disappearing altogether.

"Forcing myself to grow up, to try and play house with a man too far above my social standing." Her words were laced with embarrassment, and the way the consonants blurred together somehow gave more weight to her admission.

"Sakura-sensei, you're already an adult." 

"I know it seems that way since I'm twelve years older than you, but--"

"Eleven."

"Whatever, but I said grown-up, not adult. You can be an adult forever, but that doesn't mean you're grown up." She reached for the bottle, and Kakashi thought about pulling it away, but the look in her eyes spoke of painful punishment, so he relented and watched numbly as she took three long gulps. 

This was maybe only the second or third time he had seen it.. Every now and then, he would catch glimpses of the person she was beneath the polished mask she carefully secured every day. A crack just large enough to see a beautiful, heartbreaking kind of sadness.

If anyone deserved to be sad, he supposed it could be her. Kakashi still remembered the night of the Uchiha revolt, lead by Sasuke Uchiha himself. It was the night Naruto lost his parents, and team seven lost their sensei. 

They weren't meant to die, Kakashi might have been only about fourteen, but even he could read anguish purely writ across Sasuke's face as his teacher, the Hokage, the great Yellow Flash, crumpled to the ground with his wife.

It wasn't meant to end that way, but it did. Shortly after, Sasuke and every member of his family involved were locked away indefinitely. 

No one talked about it, even though it was less than a decade ago. It was a stain on the Uchiha name, and a stain on Konoha. 

Everything seemed back to normal. The Uchiha police force had been disbanded, and those left after the revolt, for the most part, stayed quiet and out of the way, keeping to themselves, Obito excluded.

Although it seemed normal, Kakashi could see the way resentment, betrayal, and overwhelming heartbreak simmered beneath the surface of Sakura and Naruto's gazes.

They still defended the traitor, but self-loathing was present every single time they had to.

"Do you think people can change?" Sakura asked suddenly, as if she could hear his train of thought.

Kakashi wanted to ask if she had been to see Sasuke lately, or if she still loved him after everything he put her through, if playing house was her way of solidifying her mask of acceptance... But it was common knowledge that no one else was allowed to talk about Sasuke, and Kakashi wasn't sure Sakura considered him a good enough friend to confide in.

"People only change when the need is forced upon them and they realize it, but otherwise, no." Kakashi thought he sounded stupid, but she smiled at him regardless.

"Are you going to carry me home or are you going to make your elder take care of herself?"


End file.
